T-Paw endorsed Mitt Romney...

...for president this morning, and Doug Mataconis thinks he knows why (my emphasis):

Pawlenty wasn’t very high in the polls when he dropped out, so it doesn’t seem likely that his endorsement will help Romney all that much. Nonetheless, this may be the beginning of the GOP Establishment lining up behind the former Massachusetts Governor as the race narrows down to a Romney/Perry fight.